


Polaris

by neptune8135



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Comedy, Fluff, Insomnia, M/M, Mistletoe, Romance, Stargazing, polaris - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2018-12-20
Packaged: 2019-09-23 03:44:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17072867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neptune8135/pseuds/neptune8135
Summary: In which Chan can’t sleep at night so he wanders around alone in the streets. That’s when he meets Minho, a quiet and mysterious yet cheerful boy who makes Chan feels like he’s not lonely anymore. As they spend more time together, Chan realises that he might have a crush on him.





	Polaris

When the sun is sleeping and t he rest of the world is dreaming, Bang Chan stays awake, tormented by the endless thoughts in his head. He can’t remember the last time he had a good night sleep. Usually to kill the time, he would work on his laptop, producing music until dawn, and then he would fall asleep two hours before he had to leave for class. But that night he was frustrated. He couldn’t focus. How many times he tried to produce the right beat, he wasn’t satisfied with the result. Frustrated, Chan decided to go on a late-night walk to take a breath of fresh air.

It was the beginning of November and the weather was chilly, especially at night. Chan put on his plain black oversized hoodie and headed outside. It was 2am so everyone was sleeping. Not even a car drove by. The only sounds he could hear were the sounds of his own footsteps and the sound of the cold breeze that made the autumn leaves rustle. He found out that he liked walking around town at night. It was therapeutic in a way. Normally when he couldn’t produce or when he was thinking too much, he just stayed in his room, frustrated. But as he was walking he was also left alone in his thoughts, yet he was not confined by the four walls of his bedroom. It was liberating.

He walked around thoughtlessly for a while, and then he reached the nearby park. That’s where he ended up most of the times he was outside at night, right before he went back to his dorm. He liked sitting on the bench by the pond. That’s where he was headed at, when he saw that someone was already sitting there. He wanted to turn back and find another bench, but it was already too late.

“Hey!” the other person called out.

“Oh, hi!” Chan replied. He looked at the boy in front of him. It was night but the street lights provided more than enough light for him to see properly. By the way the boy looked, Chan guessed they were approximately the same age.

“You can sit here if you want,” the boy said.

“Thank you,” Chan replied. He sat down next to the boy. It was quiet for a while, and then the boy sighed. “Ah, it’s hard right?”

“Excuse me?” Chan didn’t understand what he meant by that.

“Life, it’s hard right?”

“Oh uhm, yeah,” Chan replied, flustered by the random question. It was quiet again. Chan felt a bit uncomfortable, not knowing what to say next. He looked over at the boy next to him. He looked peaceful, just contemplating the pond right in front of them, as if Chan wasn’t there. He could only see his profile, but he noticed the sharp features of his face and his black hair covering his forehead. He was quite handsome.

“My name is Minho,” the boy said suddenly.

“Oh, I’m Chan, nice to meet you.” Silence settled again between the two, and Chan definitely started to feel more and more uncomfortable every second. He started to play with the hem of his hoodie, still searching for the right words to start a conversation.

“So uhm,” he started, “what brings you here?” Minho broke out of his reverie and turned his face to look at Chan. “I just needed to take a break,” he answered.

“A break from what?” Chan asked.

“Practice,” he replied. Just when Chan was about to ask a follow up question, Minho continued, “I’m a dancer.” Wow, Chan thought. A dancer, that’s pretty cool. Chan had tried all kind of sports when he was younger. Tennis, basketball, swimming, football, even martial arts. He didn’t master them, but he was pretty decent. Even good, in some cases. But even though he tried dance a few times, his limbs just wouldn’t cooperate. He was a terrible dancer.

“Do you always practice until 2am?” Chan asked.

“Yes,” Minho simply replied, “Actually, most of the time I practice until 3am and sometimes even until 4am”

“Wow you’re pretty dedicated!” To say Chan was impressed was an understatement.

“Yes, I kinda have to,” Minho replied, “I’m trying to get into this really good dance academy, but I need to pass an audition for that and I don’t want to mess it up.”

“I’m sure your hard work will pay off!” Chan reassured him.

“Of course it will!” Minho exclaimed, “I’m a good dancer after all!” At that, he winked cheekily at Chan which made him chuckle.

“So,” it was Minho’s turn to ask questions, “What brings YOU here?”

“I’m just clearing my head that’s all,” Chan answered, feeling flustered. He didn’t really like to open up to people, especially not to someone he just met.

“From what?” asked Minho. “You know what, don’t answer! I know the answer already!” he suddenly exclaimed.

“Really?” Chan raised an eyebrow, a smile on his lips.

“Yes!” Minho turned his body to face Chan completely. He put his hand on Chan’s tight and then continued, “Life, it’s hard right?”

This started a fit of laugher from both boys. Chan felt grateful. It seemed like Minho sensed his discomfort and, instead of pushing further, tried to lighten up the mood by making him laugh. And it worked.

“Oh!” Minho exclaimed, looking at his watch, “I need to go back to practice, you distracted me,” he teased jokingly.

“You’re still going to practice at this hour?” Chan asked, as if he himself didn’t stay up until dawn to work on his music.

“Well of course,” he answered, looking almost offended by the question, “I want to conquer the world with my dancing!” He stopped and thought for a while. “After that, I’ll take over the moon!” This made Chan laugh once again.

“Alright,” he said, standing up, “I won’t hold you back any longer,” he continued with a smile on his lips, “go take over the world!”

“And the moon!”

“And the moon yes!” Chan replied, his smile growing bigger. They both bowed at each other and went their separate ways.

 

***

 

The next few days went down as usual. He would wake up, sleep deprived. Then he would prepare to go to class. His parents – or more specifically, his dad – didn’t believe in him dream to become a musician, so like every other boy his age, he went to college. He didn’t like what he was studying. To many numbers, not enough music. But he had no other choice, so he did as he was told. That didn’t mean that he gave up on his dream. In fact, he worked on his music more than he worked on his degree. After class he would often hang out with his two friends, Changbin and Jisung. Together they formed a team called “3RACHA”. The name actually started out as a joke, but they sticked with it. Together they would produce new tracks, write lyrics, and oftentimes they would just talk and laugh. They were all very different, but they fit each other well.

Today they were working at Changbin’s house. That’s where they hung out most of the time. His room was big enough to fit all 3 boys plus his mom always made delicious food for them when she was home.

“I’m so hungry!” Jisung exclaimed dramatically. He was laying on his back on Changbin’s bed. Chan and Changbin were both seated at the desk right next to the bed, a piece of paper and a pen laying in between them. They were in the middle of brainstorming about a new song idea.

Changbin, who was previously looking at the sheet of paper like secrets were hidden in it, sat back, sighted and replied, “Now that you mention it, I’m hungry too.”

“Mom is working late tonight so she won’t be back soon. Let me see if she left any snacks!” At that, he stood up and left the room.

Jisung looked up from his lying position. “Hyung, isn’t this the fourth time you’re wearing this hoodie this week?” He asked teasingly.

“Uh? Really?” Chan looked down at his hoodie. He was wearing one of his plain black hoodies, his favorite one. It was the one he was wearing when he first met Minho, he noticed. Wait, why did he remember that?

“I didn’t notice it was the same. I was so tired lately I just took whatever I found first.”

“You love your black hoodies so much, we could write a song about it!” he joked.  Chan slightly tilted his left to the right, the thing he always does when he’s thinking. He was about to say something, when Changbin came back.

“There is no food!” He said, sounding almost sad. He was even pouting. There was this thing about Changbin, if you didn’t know him he seemed closed off and mysterious, but once you knew him, everything about him was cute.

“Someone should go to the convenience store then!” Jisung said, as a matter fact, “I suggest one of you two goes,” he continued, “I would totally go but I’m dying from hunger, I can’t even stand up!” He lifted his limbs up from the bed and let them fall right back in a dramatic way as demonstration.

Changbin looked at Chan, a playful smile on his lips. “Jisung!” he called.

“Yeah?” he replied, laying on his back and looking at the ceiling.

“There’s a spider on the wall behind you.”

“Where where where?” he screamed out, standing up frantically, trying to get as far away from the wall as possible. He clinged onto Changbin’s arm.

“Hyung, where is it?” Chan and Changbin both started to laugh. Jisung, who finally understood the situation, started to get red in the face.

“Hyung that’s not funny! You know how I hate spiders!”

After debating a bit, they finally decided to play “rock-paper-scissors” to decide who would go to the store. Chan ended up losing, which made Jisung very pleased.

The store was only 10 minutes away, so he went by foot. Well, it’s not that he could drive anyway. Once at the store, he took a few snacks, food and drinks. After purchasing his items he left the store and turned right, when suddenly, someone called his name. He turned his head to see whom that voice belonged to.

“Hey!” the voice called again. As the boy was coming closer, Chan recognized him. It was Minho. He was walking towards him, accompanied by two boys that Chan didn’t know. One of them was tall. He was wearing a white hoodie and plain jeans. He looked like a model with the soft features of his face and his dark hair that was slightly parted so it wouldn’t fall into his eyes. The other one was smaller. He was wearing a similar outfit as the others, but his hair was lighter, almost orange.

“Oh hi!” When the three boys finally reached him, they all bowed at each other. One of them - the tall one – introduced himself as Hyunjin, and the other one as Felix. The two boys next to Minho looked as awkward as Chan felt in that moment, but Minho didn’t seem to notice, or maybe he just didn’t care.

“Felix?” Chan asked, curious about the name, “Are you a foreigner?”

“Yes,” he replied. Chan was caught of guard by how deep his voice was compared to his sweet looking face, “I’m from Australia.”

“I’m from Australia too!” Chan exclaimed. Felix’ face lit up, happy to find someone from the same country as him.

“Really?” Minho asked, “I didn’t know that,” he said, surprised. He put his arm around Felix’ shoulders, like a big brother would do to annoy his younger sibling. “He came here a few months ago, I am the one teaching him Korean!” he said, a proud smile on his lips.

“Yeah, that’s true” Felix acknowledged, somewhat embarrassed.

“How did you meet?” Chan asked, curious.

Felix answered, “We go to the same dance school.” He obviously had an accent and his sentences were slower, but his Korean was pretty good for someone who just started learning a few months ago.

“We actually all do,” Minho said, showing Felix and Hyunjin. Hyunjin hadn’t said a word since they introduced themselves. You could see on his face that he was the shyest of the trio. He just stood there next to Minho and tried to avoid Chan’s eyes. It was quite funny.

“We are actually having a break from practicing right now. We were on our way to the store to buy some food and that’s when I saw you walking out,” Minho said.

“I also just came to buy some snacks,” Chan said, lifting the bag in his hand, as if he was trying to prove his words.

“Actually Hyung,” Hyunjin said, talking to Minho, “Felix and I can already go buy the snacks so we won’t be late.”

Felix looked at Hyunjin, confused, “But we can’t be late because-”

He never got to finish his sentence because Hyunjin interrupted him, “Come Felix, let’s go!” He then bowed at Chan, quite awkwardly, and turned around to the store. Felix, obviously still confused, smiled at Chan first then followed his friend. The boys started shushing to each other and Chan looked at them with a curious look on his face.

Minho didn’t seem to notice his friend’s weird behavior and turned around to remind them what food he wanted. “Ok!” they both answered in chorus and entered the store. Minho then turned his attention to Chan again.

“So, do you still have troubles sleeping?”

“Yes but-”, Chan stopped mid-sentence, then tilted his head slightly to the right, “Wait, how do you know I have troubles sleeping?” He tried to recall his first conversation with him 3 days ago. He was pretty sure he never mentioned having troubles sleeping, just that he needed to clear his head.

“Nobody clears their head at 2am if they don’t have troubles sleeping,” Minho simply stated, as if he was hearing Chan’s thoughts.

“Oh,” Chan replied sheepishly, “yes you’re right.”

“And yes,” Chan continued, “I still have troubles sleeping but it’s been a while, I’m used to it by now.” Actually, the night he met Minho was the first night in a long time that he slept well. When he came home he laid in his bed and immediately fell asleep. He slept peacefully, without any thoughts tormenting his head. The walk must have tired him out, Chan thought. So the days after, he did the same. When he couldn’t sleep, he took his hoodie and walked through the night hoping that he would return home with a fresh mind and -most importantly- a good night sleep. But that didn’t happen. He slept as bad as he usually did.

“You know what?” Minho asked, “Give me your phone.” 

“Uh?” Chan asked, but he did as he was told and handed his phone to Minho. For a second, their hands touched. Minho’s hands were small and extremely soft, just like you would expect them to be.

Minho took his phone and started typing something. Chan waited, curious about what he was doing. Soon, Minho gave him his phone back.

“Here, I gave you my number! If you can’t sleep again just tell me. I’m always practicing until late so I might as well take breaks!” he stated simply. Minho’s way of talking was quite amusing sometimes. The way he said his sentences, clear and structured, nor too fast or too slow, he almost sounded like a robot. Chan smiled at the thought.

“Wow...yeah….ok, thanks!” Chan finally said, breaking out of his reverie. At that moment, Hyunjin and Felix came out of the store. They didn’t come back to them but instead they waited at the door of the store.

“You know what,” Chan said, “I should go back! If I don’t being back the food fast enough, my friends are gonna kill me!”

Minho replied he should go back as well. So they greeted each other and Chan quickly waved at Hyunjin and Felix who were standing a bit further.

On the way back, Chan felt happy. He didn’t know what it was, but he found himself smiling for no reason. When he finally arrived, Changbin and Jisung – especially the latter – went crazy.

“Oh. My. GOD! Finally! I almost DIED out here! Do you know how hungry I am?” Jisung snatched the bag out of Chan’s hand and went to the kitchen, rambling on about how it was not responsible of him to go to the store to buy food and only coming back 40 minutes later.

“Seriously hyung, don’t leave me with a hungry Jisung ever again!” Changbin whined. “Actually, why did it take you so long?” They followed Jisung to the kitchen, ignoring his fit.

“I met a friend at the store.” Chan simply replied.

“Which friend?” Jisung asked without looking up. He had stopped rambling and was now focused on making the instant noodles that Chan bought.

“Woojin hyung?” asked Changbin. He was reaching for the bag on the kitchen counter.

“No, someone else that I met a few days ago….” Chan trailed off while looking at Jisung with a curious look on his face.

“Jisung… What are you doing?”  The younger boy had put water in the water cooker. Instead on putting it back on the matching bottom piece, he was trying to put it on the bottom piece that was obviously for a blender.

“It doesn’t fit!” he said, looking up at Chan and Changbin, dumbfounded.

“Let hyung do it!” said Changbin, puffing out his chest, with a huge smile on his face, which led to his nose slightly crunching. Even when Changbin was trying to act cool, he was cute, thought Chan. He walked over to Jisung, took the water cooker from his hands and simply placed it on the according bottom piece, which was just behind it. Jisung’s cheeks were turning slightly red from embarrassment. He soon started arguing about how Changbin would have made the same mistake if he weren’t in his own house. Chan laughed at the scene. Jisung loved to be dramatic and Changbin loved teasing him, so the duo was always entertaining.

“Hey Jisung,” Chan suddenly called out when they were all seated and eating their instant noodles, “what were you saying again about writing a song about my bias hoodie?”

 

***

 

They ended up going along with the idea. It sounded weird at first but soon ideas started pouring out from the three boys and in no time they almost finished the lyrics of their new song called “Hoodie Season”. They all stayed over at Changbin’s place in order to finish the song. On Sunday afternoon, Chan went back to his dorm, as he had classes on Monday. As expected, like every other night, every time he went to sleep, he just couldn’t.

On Sunday night, he thought about calling Minho. He had given him his number after all. But he quickly put the thought away and tossed around in his bed. He didn’t want to bother Minho, he was practicing after all.

On Monday night, he went back to the park where he met Minho for the first time. He thought that the midnight walk might help him, but it didn’t. When he came back to his dorm, he was even more restless the before.

On Tuesday night, he was getting more and more frustrated. Except from the usual thoughts that prevented him to sleep, he now had a new one. Minho. He was trying to ignore it, but he couldn’t deny that the first time he slept well, was after he met Minho at the park. After that encounter he went on other midnight walks, but they didn’t help. Only one factor was missing from the whole scheme. That factor had a name, and its name was Minho. He couldn’t get the boy out of his head, when he had only met him two times. A thought crossed his mind… Could it be…? No, that wasn’t possible. He quickly pushed the thought aside. But then he wondered. Was Minho really the reason why Chan could sleep the other time? Did he have that much effect on him? Chan took his phone, hesitating. He finally unlocked it and went to his contact list. He found Minho’s name and stared at it. His finger lingered right above the call button. Then, he changed his mind. Even if he wanted to call Minho, it was already 4am. He couldn’t bother him at that hour.

On Wednesday night, Chan made up his mind. Thinking and lingering in his bed wouldn’t help, right? And Minho _told_ him that he could call when he wanted. Whatever excuse that Chan made in the previous days for not calling Minho, one thing started to make sense. Chan _wanted_ to see Minho. He wouldn’t have this internal struggle if he didn’t want to see him. But why was it a struggle in the first place? Chan only met Minho two times, but Chan already considered him as a friend. And he would never hesitate that much to call Woojin, his best friend, or Changbin and Jisung. So why was it that just thinking about calling Minho made his heart beat faster? Why was he so nervous?

He pushed all his thoughts aside and picked up his phone. It was 1.36am. Normally he would wait longer and work on music, but he didn’t want to call Minho to late in the night. Once again, he went through his contact list and found Minho’s name. He hesitated at first, but then he finally pushed the call button. He put the phone to his ear and then waited nervously.

The phone rang one time.

 

_Two times._

 

Was it a good idea?

 

_Three times._

 

Minho was maybe already sleeping, maybe he didn’t practice until late today.

 

_Four times._

 

This was stupid, I should hang up, he thought.

 

_Five times._

 

Someone picked up the phone, and a soft yet cheerful voice voice greeted him. “Hello?” Chan’s heart skipped a beat. He ignored it.

“Hi!” he replied, “It’s Chan!”

“Oh Chan! Meet me at the park!” he said, still cheerful. He didn’t even wait for Chan’s response and hang up the phone. Chan stared at his phone, dumbfounded. He didn’t even let him speak. Then he smiled, took his hoodie – a deep red one that Jisung gave him – and went to the park they first met.

 

***

 

When he arrived at the park, Minho was already there.

“Chan! Hi!” he greeted him for the second time.

“Hi Minho!” he greeted back, “Look, I’m so sorry for bothering you at-“ Chan started.

“Ah don’t worry! I needed a break from Felix and Hyunjin anyway.” he said with a playful smile.

“You sure?”

“Yes! Come on, I have something to show you!” he said. He then started walking out of the park, leaving Chan speechless once again.

After walking out of the park, Minho brought him to his dance complex, where he practices with Hyunjin and Felix. It was near the center of the city, so the streets were a lot livelier than Chan’s side of the town. While walking, they talked as if they had known each other since ages. Minho mainly talked about how important dance was for him. Hearing how passionate Minho was about dance, made Chan’s heart clutch. He could really relate to it. Not that Chan was passionate about dancing, but about his music. When he told him that he made music, Minho got really impressed. Chan smiled to himself. He felt proud.

“Wow,” he said, his mouth forming a small O, “you produce and write by yourself?”

“Well, not by myself. I have 2 friends and together we form a team called 3RACHA.”

“Sriracha?” asked Minho, “Like…the sauce?” his eyebrows forming a small V out of confusion. Chan chuckled. He knew he would ask that.

“No, like the English number. Three-racha.” Chan explained.

“Actually,” he continued, “We post our music on Soundcloud if you want to check it out!”

“I _definitely_ want to check it out,” he answered, winking at Chan. That made Chan smile, and something fluttered in his stomach. He tried to ignore it.

Finally, they arrived at the building and Minho led him to the rooftop. It wasn’t really big, but it was cozy. “Wow!” Chan exclaimed, in awe by the view before him. It was still mid-November, but there were already small Christmas lamps lining the low wall that surrounded the rooftop. In the middle there were a few chairs surrounding two small tables, each chair with its own blanket.

“We spend a lot of time here in summer during our breaks,” Minho explained, “But I especially like it in winter. The vibe is different.” Chan went to the wall in front of him and looked at the view. The building wasn’t extremely high so you couldn’t see the whole city, but you could still see a big part of it. They were in the busy part of the city so even though it was past 2am, the streets were filled with people, partying, laughing, just enjoying this beautiful autumn night.

Together, Chan and Minho placed two chairs close to the wall that was right in front of the door. Chan noticed that the chairs where so close to each other that if they both rested their arms on the armrest, they would touch each other. For some weird reason, the thought made Chan’s heart beat faster. While Chan covered himself with a blanket, Minho went back inside the building, saying he would come back soon. He did, and he surprised Chan with two glasses of hot cocoa, one for each of them. “Oh my god thank you!” said Chan, all excited. “Nothing is better than hot cocoa on a chilly night!”

“Ah, I see you’re a man of culture as well!” answered Minho playfully.

He handed Chan his hot cocoa and then he sat in his chair, covering himself with a blanket as well.

“The night is beautiful,” said Chan, “we can even see the stars!”

“Oh,” said Minho, all excited, “Do you know a lot about stars?”

“Not really….” admitted Chan, “I mean, I like looking at them, but I don’t know the constellations.”

“You don’t even know the Polaris?”

“I know the name, but not the-” Chan stopped mid-sentence and chuckled, seeing Minho’s clearly offended face. It was a very funny sight.

“What? A lot of people don’t know the constellations!” said Chan, complaining.

“You know what,” Minho said, with the same offended look on his face, “I take back what I said earlier! You clearly have NO culture. At all!” He almost sounded disgusted.

“Aouch, that hurt! Since you know oh soooo much about constellations, what’s the name of this one?” Chan asked, pointing at a small cluster of stars, testing.

Minho replied confidently, with a smug look on his face.

“You could actually make that up and I wouldn’t know!” joked Chan.

“You don’t trust me?” replied Minho, offended once again.

“No.” he replied, teasing him. Minho threw him a dirty look but soon continued to talk about everything that he knew about stars. The most popular ones, their history, the brightest ones and so on. It was quite impressive, and Chan wouldn’t admit it out loud but also, he found it very attractive.

“Where’s the star you mentioned earlier?” asked Chan, curious.

“Which one?”

“The very first one, uhm, the Polaris!”

“I already showed it to you remember! It’s the brightest star! Were you even listening to what I said?”

“Yes I did!” answered Chan, embarrassed, turning his head away from Minho. He wasn’t lying, he had been listening. But somewhere along his story, Chan got distracted. By Minho. He looked at his small face, looking at the sky, his eyes reflecting the small Christmas lights. He was watching at his pink lips while he was talking, and all he could think about was how soft they must be. He was truly mesmerized by Minho’s beautiful face and his soft, excited voice.

“Ok then,” said Minho, not convinced, “Show me where the Polaris is?”

Chan hesitated. It was clear that he hadn’t got a clue about where it was. Chan pointed at a random star. “Uhm, this one?”

Minho looked at him, shaking his head in disappointment, and sighted.

“It’s this one!” he said, pointing at a certain spot in the sky.

“This one?” Chan pointed in the same direction as Minho. He then looked over at him, looking for confirmation, but Minho shook his head once again.

“No, this one! Wait, let me show you.” He then reached over to Chan’s hand. Chan’s heart started beating faster, watching Minho closing his small hand around his bigger one. The contact made Chan’s skin tingle and his cheeks turned a light shade of pink. Chan was happy that it was dark, so that Minho couldn’t see how flustered he made him. He then pointed Chan’s index finger to a star, clearly brighter than the other stars.

“You see?” asked Minho.

“Oh yeah now I see it! It’s beautiful!” Minho slowly released his hand from Chan’s hand, and Chan found himself missing the warmth Minho gave him.

“It’s my favorite star.” Minho said, “When I’m upset, and it feels like everything is wrong, I look at the Polaris. Because even though my world might be turned upside down, this star will always be there to light up the night sky.” Chan looked at Minho, feeling touched by his words.

Minho and Chan continued talking for more than an hour. Minho teased him about his lack of knowledge in stars, but they also talked about more serious stuff. About how Chan didn’t like studying, how he would much rather dedicate his life to music, but that his father didn’t agree. How this kept him awake at night. How Minho could relate to that, because his parents didn’t agree of him dancing at first, but finally they supported him. Chan always found it difficult to open up to people, but it was so easy with Minho. He didn’t say much when Chan was talking, and he didn’t need to. He was a great listener, and that’s all Chan needed.

At almost 4am, Minho accompanied Chan back to his dorm.

“You didn’t need to come all the way until here with me you know.” Said Chan when they were in front of the door.

“It’s okay, I needed to warm up anyway” he simply replied, rubbing his hands together. It got colder and colder, and that was mainly the reason why they decided to go back home.

“Well,” said Chan, not knowing what to say, “Thank you for talking with me today! I didn’t mean to bother you that long!”

“You didn’t bother me! I told you that you could call me!” he said and winked.

“Alright!” Chan answered, relieved, “And I’ll try to remember what you told me about the stars!”

“At least try to remember the Polaris!”

“I will! See you later Minho!”

“See you later!” he answered. They bowed at each other and Chan watched Minho as he walked down the road. Chan was happy, and he once again felt something flutter in his stomach, much harder than before.

 

***

 

Since that night, Chan and Minho texted all the time, but his favorite moments with Minho were aways at night. They didn’t meet up every night, but when they did, Chan enjoyed it so much. They spent their time talking and making silly jokes together. Chan made him listen to a few 3RACHA songs and Minho showed him a few choreographies. They were both in awe of each other’s talent. In a sense, they both admired each other.

They had known each other for almost 3 weeks now, but it was like they knew each other for the longest time. It was so easy to talk to him. He listened without judging, and he did his best to give advice. Also, Minho was very funny. He had this dry and sarcastic kind of humor while Chan was more goofy, so they matched well!

The more time Chan spent with Minho, the more his feelings started growing. Blooming, like a very small flower at first, that grows and grows with beautiful petals, bigger than they were expected to be. It scared Chan. First, he tried to deny his feelings. It was insignificant, right? Minho was just a friend, right? But each time he saw Minho, his heart started beating faster than the last time, and a new butterfly was added to the flutters he felt in his stomach. He had never loved someone that much before, but more importantly, he never had loved a _boy_ like that before. When you thought you were something your whole life, and then suddenly you discover that you’ve been wrong all this time, it’s scary. He also wasn’t sure wether his feelings were reciprocated or not. Minho was a very teasing, flirty type. He always winked to him in a teasing manner. He always held Chan’s hand for random reasons. When they go to the other side of the road. When he leads him to a new place. When they’re sitting next to each other on the rooftop, saying that it’s because it’s cold. But was he only like this with Chan? Or was it his personality? Maybe Chan was getting wrong signals? Either way, Chan didn’t want to find out. Or, better said, he didn’t want his hopes crushed. Love was scary, but not being loved back was even scarier. And Chan liked how things were right now. Things were perfect between them, he didn’t want to change that.

Chan was sitting on Woojin’s bed, with his back against the wall and his legs stretched out before him. Woojin was his best friend. He had been for years now, ever since Chan arrived in Korea when he was a child. They basically grew up together. Same class, same friends, and now Woojin and Chan were even in the same dorm. Not only them, but also their two families were pretty close. Woojin and his brother Seungmin came over so many times that it actually felt like they were all part of one big family. Chan was really close with Seungmin too, but his younger brother Jeongin, was even closer. Jeongin would never admit it though, because he liked acting like he hated Seungmin. But everyone knew that he was actually very found of him. They were like Tom and Jerry. Tormenting the other 24/7 yet never leaving each other’s side.  

“So, there’s this person that I met,” started Chan, looking at his hands in his lap, embarrassed about confessing his feelings out loud like that. It’s not that he didn’t trust Woojin (or Seungmin, since he was there too), but he just hated being that vulnerable. “We’ve been hanging out lately and……I think I like them. A lot. More than I ever liked someone.” He looked up and looked at Woojin who was sitting on the chair by his desk. Woojin gave him an encouraging nod to make him continue.

“But, I’m not sure wether h- this person,” he said while correcting himself. Woojin didn’t seem to notice his slip up so he continued, “I’m not sure whether this person feels the same. I’m afraid I’m seeing something that isn’t there. And I don’t want to ruin our friendship you know?” Woojin didn’t wait to answer.

“In my opinion,” Woojin said, “you should just tell her how you feel. She might feel the same and you will never know if you don’t at least try, don’t you think?”

“Yeah……. About that…..” Chan’s cheeks turned red, and his heart started beating faster. It was the first time he had been this nervous to tell Woojin something.

“It’s not a ‘her’ I’m talking about. It’s a ‘he’. His name is Minho.” He looked up at Woojin, waiting for his reaction. He didn’t know why he was so nervous. Seungmin had come out to both of them two years earlier, and they had both been very accepting. Woojin didn’t say anything for a second. Chan waited anxiously. He saw confusion across Woojin’s face, but then, with the biggest smile on his face, he corrected himself, “Well, then tell _him_!”

Chan smiled back shyly, but he was grateful. He was _so_ grateful to have Woojin as his best friend. They had been best friends for more than a decade, and this was the first time that Chan mentioned liking a boy. Well, it was also the first time that Chan actually liked a boy. Chan knew Woojin must have a lot of questions, but he didn’t ask them just yet.

Instead, Seungmin did it for him.

Chan had almost forgotten he was there too. He was sitting on the other end of the bed on Woojin’s pillow, his legs crossed and his back against the wall, eating out of a bag of chips. He had been quiet until now. Chan actually didn’t mind that Seungmin was there. Even though Woojin was his best friend, he was pretty close to Seungmin too. He considered them both as his brothers from another mother. Well, technically, only Jeongin was his brother from another mother, but that was another story.

“So… You’re gay too?” he asked while putting another potato chip in his mouth, as if he was not a bit surprised by his revelation.

“I’m not sure…..”

“Oh yes that’s true!” Seungmin recalled, “There was this girl…. What was her name again?” He asked with his mouth full.

“Mina.” He replied.

“Yeah right! You were madly in love with her! Right?” Seungmin asked, suddenly not sure.

“Yes, yes I was.” That wasn’t a lie. He truly was. She used to be in Woojin’s and Chan’s class. She was Japanese and arrived in Korea in their first year of high school. Mina was extremely shy and didn’t talk to anyone for a while, but Chan fell in love with her in a heartbeat. They went on a date once, but nothing came from it. He had been in love with her for more than a year. Chan had no doubt his feelings for Mina had been real.

“Oh.” Seungmin simply replied. Chan chuckled at Seungmin’s short response.

“Ok then, what is he like? Do we know him?” Woojin asked.

“I’m not sure. I met him randomly really. His full name his Lee Minho.”

“There are a lot of Lee Minho’s.” Seungmin stated.

Chan thought about other characteristics that they might recognize if they knew him. “He has black hair that almost falls into his eyes. He has a pale skin but not as pale as mine. It doesn’t seem like it but he’s quite strong since he’s a dancer. Oh, and he also-”

“Wait,” Seungmin exclaimed, interrupting him, “he’s a dancer?”

“Yeah! Cool right?”

“No no, well yes, but no, that’s not what I mean!” Seungmin had this glint in his eyes that showed he was excited about something. He picked up his phone and started to frantically scroll through his gallery. He was talking, getting more excited by the second.

“My boy-” he looked up, then looked back down at his phone, his face red, “My friend is a dancer too, and I think one of his dancer friends is called Lee Minho! And if that’s the same Minho, I think he mentioned you”

“For real?” Chan asked, amazed by the coincidence.

“Wait you have a boyfriend?” said Woojin at the same time as Chan.

“No I don’t!” he replied, his face betraying him by getting redder.

“Yes, that’s what you said! And you didn’t _tell_ me?!” exclaimed Woojin, offended.

“Because he’s not my boyfriend! We’re just started dating pretty recently.” Seungmin was clearly embarrassed, and Chan chuckled, founding the situation very amusing.

“Look, I was going to tell you once things were more serious between Jinnie and I.”

“Jinnie?” Woojin asked. “Is that you’re boyfriends name?”

“No, it’s just his nick-” Seungmin replied and then gasped, noticing his mistake.

“So he _is_ your boyfriend!” Woojin exclaimed once again.

“No he’s not! We’re just- Agh!” Seungmin was clearly frustrated by his brother.

“So when where you going to tell me this? _Were_ you even going to tell me this?”

“Stop being so dramatic!” he replied, and then he started scrolling through his gallery again.

 “Ah! Found it!” Seungmin exclaimed, handing Chan his phone. Chan took it.

“Jinnie send me this picture a few days ago, it’s a group picture with his dance friends!” Chan looked at the picture. There were approximately 20 boys on the picture. They were standing in a practice room, right before the mirror that lined up the wall. They were all smiling and happy, and Chan could see how close they were. Chan’s eyes were drawn to a familiar face. Minho. He was smiling, just like the others, but somehow it seemed like his smile was illuminating the room.

“Stop smiling like an idiot,” said Woojin on his right, “It’s scary.” Chan looked up and tried to stop smiling but he couldn’t. Seeing Minho made his day brighter.

“Is Minho on the picture?” asked Seungmin excited.

“Yes! That’s him!” He said, pointing at Minho and giving him back his phone. Seungmin took his phone back and almost started vibrating out of excitement.

“This is awesome! Chan, don’t worry about him don’t liking you back. I’m sure he likes you! I’m 99,9% sure he does!”

“Why are you so sure?” he asked, carefully. He didn’t want to let it show, but his heart started beating faster. Was there really a chance that his feelings were reciprocated? Did Minho really like him back? He didn’t want to get his hopes up.

“Because, around two weeks ago, Jinnie talked to me about how they were going to the store and they met one of Minho’s friends and Jinnie said that he was obviously flirting with him. It made him feel so awkward he left in the middle of the conversation.” Chan raised an eyebrow and felt his heart drop at the same time. What did this information had to do with him? And how was Minho flirting with someone else supposed to make him happy? Seungmin looked at him, eyes full of expectations, waiting for him to give a reaction.

“Don’t you get it?” his eyes were big and a smile plastered on his lips. When Seungmin was excited like this, he reminded Chan of a puppy. “That boy was you!” he finally exclaimed.

“How are you so sure? I don’t think I ever met Minh-” Chan stopped mid-sentence. He remembered the day he saw Minho at the store not to long ago. Perhaps….

“Wait,” Chan tried, “Jinnie as in Hyunjin?” 

“Yes!” Seungmin exclaimed, glad that Chan was finally understanding were he was going.

“You’ve met Seungmin’s boyfriend before me?” Woojin suddenly entered the conversation. “I can’t believe this!” he said while while nodding is head left and right. Woojin was the quiet type, but sometimes he pulled those dramatic acts that Seungmin and Chan had learned to ignore over time.

The revelation of Seungmin sank in. If this was true, if Minho was really flirting with him, that meant Chan had a chance, right? Just at the thought, Chan’s cheeks turned red and a small smile played on his lips.

 

***

 

Chan was a nervous mess. It was a few minutes past 1am, and he was sitting on the bench in the park, where he met Minho for the first time. He was so nervous he was actually shaking. And it had nothing to do with the fact that it was freezing cold. He had texted Minho earlier, asking him to meet him at the park. Minho soon replied, saying that he was on his way. Now Chan was waiting nervously, imagining all kind of scenarios in his head. He had finally decided to tell Minho about his feelings, or, more precisely, Seungmin threatened him that if he didn’t do it, he would tell Hyunjin, who would tell Minho, which would be much much worse. Chan wasn’t usually this nervous. He had always been confident about his abilities, and he was laid back by nature. But when he thought about Minho, everything was unsure. He hated and loved that Minho had that kind of effect on him.

“What are you thinking about?” Chan was startled. Minho stood next to him, smiling at him with amusement.

“Oh hi! I didn’t see you arrive!” he said, while Minho sat next to him on the right side of the bench. It was like the first time they met, except that now it was way colder and there weren’t 2 feet separating them. They were so close to each other that their arms and shoulders touched. If Chan turned his head to the right, he would be dangerously close to Minho’s face. Chan was flustered just thinking about it.

“So, what were you thinking about?” Minho repeated. This was the moment. This was the moment Chan was dreading. He had made up his mind, he couldn’t back out now. Chan started, “So, uhm, yeah.” He then collected all his courage and sighted.

“I like you!” he blurted out. He turned his head a little bit, looking at Minho’s reaction, more nervous than ever. Minho simply smiled, and said, “I like you too.”

“No,” Chan wanted to clarify himself, “I mean, I _like_ like you. I really really like you. And not in a ‘you’re an amazing friend’ kinda way. I-”

“Oh look,” Minho said while still looking at Chan, interrupting him. He was looking at him with an amused smile once again, which made Chan’s cheeks turn red, “A mistletoe.”

“What?” Chan asked, confused. Minho then pointed at something above them. Chan followed his gaze. There was a big tree behind the bench, so its branches were stretched right above them. At this time of the year, the branches were almost completely naked, but on the lowest branch someone hanged a small mistletoe. Chan was wondering why people were already hanging mistletoes when there were still a few weeks until Christmas. He was about to ask how Minho knew it was there when he had been looking at him the whole time, but Minho softly spoke out, “Kiss me.”

Chan sat there, startled by the sudden request. “W-what?” Chan asked, but Minho was already leaning in. Chan’s mind was racing. This was everything he wanted. He wasn’t sure about a lot of things, but right there in that moment, he was sure of one thing. He wanted to kiss Minho. So he did. Their lips softly touched each other like feathers falling on the ground. The kiss was sweet and delicate, and yet, it felt as if Chan’s world was exploding. His heart was beating so fast he was afraid Minho could hear it. Minho was the first one to break apart. They looked at each other, not saying anything, but so many words were hanging between them. He was feeling light-headed, like he was dreaming. Minho chuckled.

“Are you ok?” he asked, smiling.

“Uhm, yeah, just a bit flustered, that’s all.”  Chan replied.

“Why?”

“I wasn’t sure you would like me back…”

“Who do you think hung this mistletoe here?”

“Wait… What?” he asked, dumbfounded. Minho had a satisfied smile on his face proud of himself.

“How did you know I would kiss you back then?”

“Hyunjin told me you liked me.” He simply replied. Chan couldn’t believe his ears. Seungmin would totally pay for this. The brat! But if you looked at it closely, the situation was quite amusing. It was funny how all this time Chan was trying to bring himself to finally confess to Minho, when Minho had been preparing how their first kiss would be, knowing all about Chan’s feelings.

“So, you did this for me?”

“No, I was actually about to call someone else but then you texted me and I was like ‘Oh well’” he replied jokingly.

“I’m flattered!”

“You should!” he exclaimed, “I actually almost fell while trying to hang this thing with Felix.”

Chan laughed, “You did? Someone should have recorded this!”

“Hyunjin did,” he glanced at Chan, “and no you’re NOT getting the footage.” he quickly added before Chan could say something.

“I totally deserve the rights to that video!” Chan complained.

“So, why do you like me?” Minho suddenly asked.

“You’re changing the subject!” Chan exclaimed. He also turned his head away from Minho, not wanting him to see how red his cheeks were.

“And you’re avoiding the question,” Minho stated with a small chuckle, “Ok, I’ll start! You’re my Polaris!” Chan looked at Minho, feeling emotional, and grateful. Grateful that Minho somehow felt the same as Chan felt. Because Chan remembered very clearly what Minho had said about the Polaris, he knew how much it meant to Minho.

_“When I’m upset, and it feels like everything is wrong, I look at the Polaris. Because even though my world might be turned upside down, this star will always be there to light up the night sky.”_

“Kiss Me.” Chan said, feeling to emotional to say something else. Minho didn’t say anything and did as Chan asked. This time, the kiss was more demanding, more longing, as if they were afraid to lose each other if they broke apart. Minho grabbed Chan’s face and Chan’s body flared up at the touch. His hands were soft and his touch was light, as if he was holding something precious that should be handled with care. He had never felt this loved, this wanted as he did in the moment. When they finally broke apart, Chan said the thing that had been on his mind all the time they were kissing, and he meant it with every fiber of his soul.

“You’re my Polaris too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I just wanted to say thank you for reading my story! Despite the length, it took me very long to write it because it’s my first story in English and the first story I actually finish so this feels like a whole achievement! Please tell me what you thought about this story, I’m open to every kind of criticism!  
> Oh and I just noticed that the first line of Polaris actually matches the first part of Insomnia and it’s a pure (but very pleasant) coincidence!  
> Also, this was an assignment for the District 9 fic exchange, so I hope you are happy with how this turned out and that it fulfilled your expectations! If it didn't I'm so sorry!  
> Anyways thank you and I love you!  
> Ps, kudos to you if you got all my stupid meme references….


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